Shanghai began to slowly resume its activities on Wednesday, after authorities eased anti-covid restrictions that triggered a two-month lockdown and a heavy blow to China’s economy.
In recent days, some measures had already been relaxed due to the significant drop in covid cases, but residents were only allowed to leave the house for a few hours a day, and only in neighborhoods without infected.
This Wednesday, residents were allowed to return to work places, but with the obligation to go through QR code readers to prove that they do not have covid. The subway and public transport are back in operation in the city.
The townspeople gathered in small groups to chat in the parks, and store and market employees prepared to welcome customers.
“This is the moment we have been waiting for a long time,” celebrated the Shanghai municipal government on social media.
The full return to normality, however, is not yet complete and more than half a million people remain under severe restrictions.
Shopping centers, supermarkets, pharmacies and beauty salons can only operate at 75% of their capacity. Gyms and cinemas remain closed for the most part and the reopening of schools will be examined on a case by case basis.
– Irritation among the residents –
But after two months of silence, the city has regained some signs of normalcy.
The large yellow fences around residential buildings were removed on Tuesday.
And the famous historic boulevard of Bund, on the banks of the Huangpu River and which runs through the city, has regained some life with locals impatient to take pictures.
Chen Ying, who works in e-commerce, will continue to work from home, but will take advantage of the flexibility to go for a walk with his two-year-old son.
“We should have been free from the start, so don’t expect me to be deeply grateful,” she told AFP.
The confinement of China’s largest city has angered the population.
Despite the vertiginous increase in positive cases in March, the municipal government initially ruled out the confinement, citing the importance of Shanghai to the economy.
But authorities changed their minds in early April and decided to lock down the entire city. Some residents were already isolated even before the date.
During the period, many people complained about problems with the supply of fresh products and access to health care not linked to covid.
– “Accelerate recovery” –
The Shanghai lockdown is the second-largest in China since the start of the pandemic. In 2020, the isolation in Wuhan, the first city affected by the virus, lasted 76 days.
After more than two years of the pandemic, China is the only major world economy that persists in the “covid zero” strategy, which consists of seeking the total eradication of the virus in its territory with severe restrictions.
The strategy, especially with its application in a business hub like Shanghai, has affected the country’s economy, undermining production, limiting consumption and significantly disrupting supply chains.
“The task of accelerating social and economic recovery is increasingly urgent,” acknowledged the Shanghai municipal government.
The easing of restrictions will allow the resumption of activities in commerce and factories, but several people fear that the recovery will not be immediate.
“I definitely have concerns, things are out of our control (…) It’s not possible to know with the pandemic,” said Chen Ribin, a cafe owner.
“He came in April, but no one can say if he won’t be back in July or August (…) We can only follow it step by step. I think it’s going to take two or three months to get back to previous levels in business,” she said.
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